Facsimile (fax) devices are a popular mechanism for transmission of information. The devices are relatively easy to use and the transmission is rapid and cost-effective. Moreover, the paper input and output of most fax machines appeals to those who prefer paper copies of documents and are not comfortable with transmitting and receiving information by way of a computer. For those more comfortable with computers, electronic mail (e-mail) is an even more rapid and cost effective method of transmitting information. Documents which are created upon a computer (as most documents are) can be transmitted, received and reviewed without generation of a paper copy if compatible viewing software is available. The increasing use by organizations of private wide area networks and more significantly, the increasing accessibility of public wide area networks (WANs) such as the Internet makes e-mail even more useful by allowing transmission to a much wider group of users.
To date, facsimile devices and electronic mail devices have for the most part been separate, with facsimile type communication being performed by a specialized fax machine and e-mail communication being performed by a general purpose desktop type computer. A user who wishes to transmit a document via e-mail must have access to a desktop computer, and a user who wishes to fax a document must use a separate fax machine. While general purpose computers, when configured appropriately with a fax/data modem which receives and transmits in accordance with both facsimile and data communications protocols, can transmit and receive documents in accordance with a fax or e-mail protocol, such operations are not always easy and often require a general knowledge of the use of the computer's operating environment.
For example, a desk-top computer which has the hardware necessary to transmit and receive e-mail and fax messages must also be loaded with a program which is capable of transmitting and receiving e-mail messages and a program which is capable of transmitting and receiving fax messages. If the desk-top computer transmits and receives e-mail and fax messages to and from a modem coupled to the computer across a local area network (LAN), such as found in many office environments, access to the network must typically be obtained by entry of an appropriate user-name and password. In other environments such as the home environment, the desk-top computer is not coupled to a LAN and access to a network is obtained by way of a telephone connection with a commercial provider of electronic mail access to a private WAN or to a public WAN such as the Internet. In either environment, the user must interact with the computer's operating system, and the program(s) required to transmit and receive fax and e-mail messages. In addition, if the user wishes to transmit a document which is in paper form, the document must first be converted into a digital format via a scanner. In such a situation, the user must also interact with software which controls operation of the scanner to generate a file containing digital data indicative of the scanned image which is in a format recognizable by the software controlling operation of the fax/modem.
As can be seen from the foregoing, such operations require a number of steps including obtaining a properly configured computer and interacting with the programs on the computer to achieve the desired communication.